Human Resource Management Within Organizations.

The significance of human resources within an organization is fundamentally shaped by Human Resource Management (HRM). Individuals are essential for achieving business success and are often regarded as a capital asset due to their invaluable contribution to both current and future objectives. The abilities, competencies, skills, and values of employees form a framework that achieves balances when supported by effective HRM practices.

According to Parul and Mazhar (2019), human resource managers play a fundamental role in the success of an organization, as the workforce they oversee is essential for creating a profitable and prosperous company. The authors emphasize that employees should not merely be viewed as a cost to the organization; rather, they are responsible for addressing the diverse challenges and situations that arise in business. However, the effectiveness of this workforce is largely contingent upon the quality of its management. For example, possessing skilled and capable individuals is insufficient; it is imperative to align their abilities to foster positive performance, encourage innovative ideas, and ensure adherence to organizational procedures and practices that facilitate continuous improvement and successful outcomes. Consequently, HRM serves as the foundation for the acquisition, retention, and development of employees.

As stated by Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor (2015), organizations cannot operate effectively without personnel; consequently, they prioritize investments aimed at securing high-quality human resources and ensuring their retention, with HRM being a key determinant of success. HRM encompasses the strategies and practices involved in the acquisition, retention, and development of human resources within an organization. The activities associated with HRM primarily concentrate on the following domains:

Planning: Every sector of a business incorporates a planning component, and in the context of HRM this begins with the assessment of human resource requirements. These needs must be strategically analyzed and forecasted in alignment with the organization’s objectives regarding new product launches, expansions, and contractions. Furthermore, it is essential to consider skills inventories and potential future changes related to employee replacements and the development of new skills among existing staff. This process should be ongoing and subject to continuous evaluation.

Job Analysis: Pertains to the acknowledgment and systematic analysis of the nature and extent of roles to align them with the needs of the organization. This process may include descriptions about duties, responsibilities, techniques and conditions for executing the work. Additionally, it contains all the skills and competencies required to meet the job specifications, including educational qualifications and relevant experience.

Recruiting: It is the process of attracting qualified candidates in alignment with job specifications. It is essential to carry out this process effectively, as selecting unqualified individuals can incur significant costs. Recruitment may occur from external or internal sources. In the latter scenario, this may involve either promotions or transfers to different roles.

Selection: Choosing the most suitable candidate based on the information supplied by the organization. Personnel must support both the job requirements and the organizational standards. Consequently, companies adopt different recruitment methods, including interviews, reference checks, and assessments of social media profiles, among others.

Orientation:  Refers to the acknowledgment of the job offer and the provision of all relevant business information to the new employee. This process involves all details related to employee programs, including compensation structures, motivational initiatives, training, development opportunities, and performance evaluations.

Recent observations indicate that functional management areas such as finance, marketing, operations, and administration, have begun to take on responsibilities traditionally associated with HRM. This trend can be viewed as a beneficial model of strategic management, driven by the need for market competitiveness and the adoption of best practices that facilitate the acquisition or retention of new markets. For example, Boxall and Purcell (2000) argue that the integration of organizational and environmental contexts necessitates best practices that originate from HRM. The process implies recognizing particular contingencies in employee behavior when competitors arise, as well as understanding how adaptation and productivity can help to explore new competitive advantages. In this context, the attainment of knowledge and intellectual capital throughout multiple areas and levels of the organization is accomplished through strategic human resource management. The authors conclude that adopting a resource-based perspective could facilitate the exploration of innovative methods for strategically leveraging human competencies, behaviors, motivations, and interactions to enhance adaptability in response to evolving market conditions. Nonetheless, a potential drawback of this approach is the risk of undermining the fundamental role of HRM, which could adversely impact the effective planning and forecasting of both current and future human resources.

Reference List

Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. “Strategic human resource management: where have we come from and where should we be going?.” International Journal of Management Reviews 2.2 (2000): 183-203.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1468-2370.00037

Parul, P. and Mazhar, S. “Core functions of human resource management and its effectiveness on organization: A study.” International Journal of Social Economics 9.5 (2019): 257-266.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Parul-Patrick/publication/350089524_Core_Functions_of_Human_Resource_Management_and_its_Effectiveness_on_Organization_A_Study/links/6050603592851cd8ce4450d2/Core-Functions-of-Human-Resource-Management-and-its-Effectiveness-on-Organization-A-Study.pdf

Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J., & Kapoor, J. R. “Foundations of business”. (Boston: Cengage Learning), 2015, 244-67.

Featured image: https://www.salus.edu/about/human-resources/index.html